D. Increased human healthcare costs

Increased healthcare costs are another important consequence of
antimicrobial resistance. Increased costs are due to the need for
additional antibiotic treatments, longer hospitalization, more
diagnostic tests, higher professional costs and more pain
management. In 1998, the Institute of Medicine estimated the
annual cost of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria at
US$ .4 to 5 million per year19. With the increase in
incidence and prevalence of AMR in the last few years, the
current cost is probably much higher. Again, increased
health costs have more profound repercussions in poorer countries where
resources are more limited and the lost efficacy of the older,
lower-cost antibiotics has a greater impact on human morbidity and
mortality.